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Recording, analysis and assessment of existing practices and operation in terms of industrial symbiosis
Development of knowledge-based web services to promote and
advance Industrial Symbiosis in Europe (eSymbiosis)
LIFE09/ENV/GR/000300
ACTION 1: Service and user requirements
D1.3 Set of requirements for the components and the web platform
September 2011
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INDEX
INDEX ............................................................................................................................ 2
1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 5
1.1. INDUSTRIAL SYMBIOSIS..................................................................................................... 5
1.2. AIM OF THE ESYMBIOSIS SYSTEM ...................................................................................... 5
2. THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT .......................................................................... 6
2.1. BUSINESS PROCESSES ..................................................................................................... 6
3. MARKETPLACE MODELS FOR ESYMBIOSIS .................................................. 16
3.1. MARKETPLACE / EXCHANGE REQUIREMENTS ................................................................... 16
3.1.1. Business Models and Markets for Exchanges .................................................... 16
3.1.1. Partnership Roles and Modes of Operation in Exchanges .................................. 17
3.2. BENEFITS BOTH ENDS OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN .................................................................. 18
3.2.1. Buy Side (‘Wants’) benefits ............................................................................. 19
3.2.2. Sell Side (‘Haves’) benefits .............................................................................. 20
3.3. OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS / REQUIREMENTS OF ESYMBIOTIC EXCHANGES............... 21
3.3.1. Negotiation .................................................................................................... 22
3.3.2. Robust, Scalable, Enterprise-level Architecture ................................................. 22
3.3.3. Flexible Customization and Integration ............................................................ 24
3.3.4. Built-in Standards-based Security .................................................................... 24
3.3.5. Administration Tools ....................................................................................... 25
4. ESYMBIOSIS ONTOLOGIES ............................................................................... 25
5. ESYMBIOSIS ARCHITECTURE ........................................................................... 29
6. ESYMBIOSIS USERS ........................................................................................... 32
6.1. STANDARD MEMBER ....................................................................................................... 32
6.2. ADVANCED MEMBER ...................................................................................................... 32
6.3. PARTNER ....................................................................................................................... 32
6.4. PRACTITIONER ............................................................................................................... 32
6.5. GUEST .......................................................................................................................... 33
6.6. KNOWLEDGE MANAGER .................................................................................................. 33
6.7. ADMINISTRATOR ............................................................................................................. 33
7. OVERALL ESYMBIOSIS WORKFLOW ............................................................... 34
7.1. WORKFLOW PHASES ...................................................................................................... 34
7.2. DESCRIPTION OF MEMBER RECRUITMENT ........................................................................ 34
7.3. DESCRIPTION OF CHARACTERISATION OF RESOURCES ..................................................... 34
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7.4. DESCRIPTION OF SYNERGY IDENTIFICATION ..................................................................... 35
7.5. DESCRIPTION OF SYNERGY TRACKING ............................................................................. 35
7.6. DESCRIPTION OF SYNERGY REPORTING .......................................................................... 36
7.7. DESCRIPTION OF CASE STUDY PRODUCTION ................................................................... 36
8. USER REQUIREMENTS ....................................................................................... 37
8.1. GLOBAL USER REQUIREMENTS ....................................................................................... 38
8.1.1. Overall vision ................................................................................................. 38
8.1.2. Resources and technologies ............................................................................ 38
8.1.3. Synergies – Outputs ....................................................................................... 38
8.1.4. Knowledge Portal ........................................................................................... 38
8.2. USER REQUIREMENTS STAGE 1 - MEMBER RECRUITMENT ................................................ 39
8.3. USER REQUIREMENTS STAGE 2 - CHARACTERISATION OF RESOURCES.............................. 39
8.4. USER REQUIREMENTS STAGE 3 - SYNERGY IDENTIFICATION ............................................. 39
8.5. USER REQUIREMENTS STAGE 4 - SYNERGY TRACKING ..................................................... 40
8.6. USER REQUIREMENTS STAGE 5 - SYNERGY REPORTING ................................................... 40
8.7. USER REQUIREMENTS STAGE 6 - CASE STUDY PRODUCTION ............................................ 40
9. WEB SERVICE FUNCTIONALITIES .................................................................... 41
9.1. USER CREATION ............................................................................................................. 41
9.2. DATABASE INPUT FUNCTIONALITY .................................................................................... 41
9.3. CRM FUNCTIONALITY ..................................................................................................... 42
9.4. WORKFLOW CONTROLS .................................................................................................. 43
9.5. BASIC TEMPLATES .......................................................................................................... 44
9.6. DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (DMS) ...................................................................... 45
9.7. SEARCH FACILITY ........................................................................................................... 45
9.8. WEB LINKS .................................................................................................................... 46
9.9. EMAIL ............................................................................................................................ 46
9.10. NEWS .......................................................................................................................... 46
9.11. HELPDESK ................................................................................................................... 47
9.12. SECURITY .................................................................................................................... 47
9.13. DATA IMPORT ............................................................................................................... 47
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES ......................................................................... 49
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Revision History
Revision Description Date
Draft v.1.0 Initial Version
Document
30/06/2011
Draft v.2.0 Extended with
Business Models &
Architecture
05/09/2011
V.3 .0 Included Ontologies
and incorporated
comments by PIC
15/09/2011
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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. INDUSTRIAL SYMBIOSIS
Industrial Symbiosis (IS) is an innovative environmental practice that is helping
companies to trade waste as feedstock, building communities that are
environmentally integrated and efficient. Industrial Symbiosis is market-oriented
creating new businesses and jobs, and saving costs in raw materials and discharge
fees. IS reduces waste across the wide range of industrial activity that includes
chemicals, metals, plastic, biomass, electronics, but also municipal waste.
1.2. AIM OF THE ESYMBIOSIS SYSTEM
The intention of eSymbiosis is to develop a web-based platform which will enable
users initially in this part of Greece, and potentially in other parts of the EU, to
participate in industrial symbiosis (IS) activities which will improve resource efficiency
across the economy. The project particularly aims to engage SMEs, which are
conspicuously lacking from membership of NISP, the only current national IS
programme in the world.
The effectively be a self-help system, rather than a resource-intensive Practitioner-
led approach as demonstrated by NISP, and therefore delivered at a much lower
cost. This will therefore support its replicability elsewhere. Ontology engineering is a
key component which will enable this project output to be delivered.
The region of Viotia‟s will act as a pilot. The Prefecture authorities will take on
responsibility for maintaining the platform after the development process is complete,
and will train industry members in its use.
This deliverable gives an overview of the business environment related to
eSymbiosis, defining the modified processes context as will be seen („to-be‟) in the IS
landscape. In the following, provides a IS view in of the well-known eMarketplace –
Business Exchanges portals, under the assumption that when Enterprises join the
eSymbiosis IS portal, the Ontology Based enhanced matching will be alive and
dressed in an eMarketplace costume. The following sections provide detail the
eSymbiosis architecture and the user requirements and associated functionalities for
the eSymbiosis web platform.
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2. THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
2.1. BUSINESS PROCESSES
As stated in the Technical Annex
“Industrial Symbiosis (IS) is an innovative approach that brings together companies
from all business sectors with the aim of improving cross industry resource efficiency
through the commercial trading of materials, energy and water and sharing assets,
logistics and expertise.”
One of the main strategic objectives of the project (S)8) is to help Reducing the
natural resource consumption (raw materials, energy, utilities) reducing waste
streams to landfill (a major problem in the region, in Greece and across Europe);
One of the most fundamental eSymbiosis concepts is that collaborative and regional
aspects are better pronounced through Industrial Symbiosis. This is an advanced
concept with an objective to build sustainable collaborative networks considering
waste streams as potential feedstocks and promoting sustainable links and supply
chains.
Industrial Symbiosis is widely seen as one of the most effective business concepts
and means for mitigating the pollution problems treating waste as feedstock
and increasing the company revenue, and eventually observing the natural
resources in the planet.
eSymbiosis is aiming to reach the above goals by:
Reviewing waste streams (target region) and industrial cases (NISP), to
develop knowledge models capable of capturing and processing knowledge
in IS;
Develop a web platform to enable communication between partners and to
automate matching partners (ontology based semantic web service and
service matchmaker) and rate matches according to economic and
environmental objectives;
Prepare material for the Viotia Prefecture (VIOT) to train industrial partners on
how to use the service, trade waste and build IS links.
To this end, Industrial Symbiosis (IS) is an innovative environmental practice that is
helping companies to trade waste as feedstock, building communities that are
environmentally integrated and efficient. The IS enterprises will perform in a modified
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business environment where win-win partnerships are formed based on the IS
„waste‟ supply chain.
The traditional supply chain is defined as an integrated manufacturing process
wherein raw materials are manufactured into final products, then delivered to
customers (via distribution, retail, or both). Diagram 1 below illustrates the structure
of the traditional supply chain.
Diagram 1. Traditional Supply Chain
The extended supply chain [8] contains all of the elements of the traditional supply
chain, but extends the one-way chain to construct a semi-closed loop that includes
product and packaging recycling, re-use, and/or remanufacturing operations.
The extended supply chain is illustrated below. The traditional supply chain links as
solid lines, and the links corresponding to the extended supply chain as dashed lines.
The W‟s enclosed by diamonds represent waste (or disposed) materials.
Diagram 2. Extended Supply Chain, involving waste treatment
A foreseen eSymbiosis scenario along the above context was:
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A company manufacturing electrical cables requires 20 tonnes of cooper every
month which is imported from Canada in batches of 120 tonnes (twice a year).
Increase in the price of copper, together with the increase in the cost of
transportation, reduced the profit margin to the critical level. One possible solution is
to investigate local resources and to use proposed service in the following way and
using the service portal:
1. Register the cooper processing technology which has capacity of processing
copper with purity of better than 85% and with capacity of 1 tonne per day,
as well other characteristics, such as geographical location of company and
that company does not have any transportation capability on its own;
2. After registration, the company could check for possible matches, finding that
the closest matches are a shipyard producing on average 12 tonnes of
cooper waste every month with purity above 90%, and that there are six
other companies producing sufficient amount of cooper waste but with purity
below 70%, all in 50 miles distance region. The system will also identify 6 of
local transportation companies suitable for transporting cooper waste, but no
company capable of processing cooper waste to higher purity;
3. Selecting the matches, the shipyard and one transportation company, it will
be possible to get, at least indicative prices for the waste per tonne as well
the cost of the transportation, which turned to be attractive;
4. The service then establishes the link between all the parties and guides them
through the whole process of setting the symbiotic chain: initial contacts,
compliance with local/national regulations as well as the negotiating
conditions of trade (and prices);
5. Once in operation, all the partners will be requested to periodically report (on
the portal) the details on trade: quantities, disturbances (such as lack or
increase volume of waste and lack of processing capacities), volume of new
working places, etc. The service will convert these into specified metrics and
prepare reports for interested parties (local authorities, environmental
agencies etc.);
6. Stages 3 – 5 will be monitored by the practitioner(s) who will offer support
and/or intervene as necessary.
The above lead us towards a new vision about the supply chain, where, through
eSymbiosis, and the treatment of Industrial waste as a potential means to extend the
sales of a company („Haves‟) and in parallel as a sourcing opportunity for a
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collaborating company („Wants‟). In the receiving side, it is clear that the IS resources
are required to properly be introduced to the company‟s procurement process. All in
all, changes in processes are required to accommodate the IS concepts to all supply
chain.
Moving further down on that route, in the following, a set of standard Industrial
Processes of Enterprises (from the chemical industry) are listed, assessing and
monitoring the effect, and the necessary transformations of those processes, in order
to perform in an Industrial Symbiotic environment.
These processes, will be used as the starting point in dealing with the business
requirements, starting from the top / strategy level aiming to provide a
comprehensive performing environment, with the necessary Information Technology
tools and infrastructures deployed to support the IS business operations.
In eSymbiosis, we envisage that this functionality will be provided through web
portals, in the form of a marketplace covering the vertical requirements of each
participating IS sector.
In the following the descriptions of the top level Industrial Processes, as transformed
to adapt to the IS environment is given ;
1. Strategy
a. Perform Business through eSymbiosis Portal
Review and understand the eSymbiosis Portal and its importance to performing
Business. Define the overall strategy to performing Business through the Portal.
Translate the strategy into business plans and establish/organize eSymbiosis
related business and how it is mapped down to the operational business units.
b. Monitor the External Environment
Analyze the industry‟s Industrial Symbiosis environment and then assess the
potential impact on the organization monitoring the economic and financial
perspectives.
c. Formulate Corporate IS Strategy
Develop the “eSymbiosis Strategy” for the organization that addresses key
elements of the business including production, customers, markets served,
distribution channels, core competencies, critical success factors and
organizational goals.
2. Product Development - Production
a. Introduce eSymbiosis Process into developing Products / Services
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The introduction of the eSymbiosis process involves changes into the
procurement processes, and also into the production / productisation processes,
wrt. the treatment of Industrial Waste. Therefore, the business develops new
products and services involving all production stages. The process involves the
development of new products as well as the technical/operational services to be
sold and services to support the new products.
b. Research IS Customer Requirements
IS “Customers” of industrial waste place additional requirements on material
specs, production flows, storage / deposition etc. Study and define customer
requirements so that they can be used to facilitate more productive and
profitable win-win IS collaboration.
c. Refine Existing Production Processes
Refine existing products so that the IS waste is more „attractive‟ to potential IS
customers.
3. Manufacturing
a. Define IS waste Generation Goals
Establish the overall IS waste manufacturing goals and metrics that the
organization will use to measure performance and progress towards objectives.
b. Measure/Assess IS waste Generation Capabilities
Evaluate the capacity to deliver „IS‟ waste in eSymbiosis Terms. The eSymbiosis
supply chains and SLA‟s will require the accurate definition of waste production,
so that it will be incorporated as a dependable resource in the production
process of an eSymbiosis customer. This involves the definition of volumes,
configuration, quality, etc.
c. Define IS waste Generation Strategy
Define IS waste Production Strategy includes defining production goals and
objectives, aligning eSymbiosis requirements and „competitive‟ information with
these goals, determining repositioning and logistics requirements, and
monitoring overall production performance.
d. Perform IS waste Generation Planning and Scheduling
IS waste Generation Planning looks at produced „waste types‟ so that resources
(people, plants, materials) can be forecasted as necessary.
e. Perform „IS‟ waste Monitored Generation (execution)
Treat IS waste produced in a monitored way, including allocation/issue of
materials and assembling batch/lot relevant documentation.
f. Perform Quality Management
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Perform Quality management of waste generation Process. Perform evaluation
and inspection of key characteristics of produced waste.
g. Manage Waste Disposition
Transfer production waste to various areas. Maintain waste Production Related
Data. Develop waste production process methodologies, policies, and
technology descriptions.
4. Procurement
a. Introduce waste procurement in the Sourcing Process
Involves the modification of the Business Procurement strategy, considering IS
as an alternative Sourcing Possibility. The process involves the maintenance of
supplier qualifications and certifications records, and the materials procured by
the IS suppliers.
b. Adapt Procurement Strategy to involve IS
Develop a map of all resources procured from suppliers/vendors including IS
waste resources. Develop a plan to manage the process of acquiring resources
extending it for IS. Establish corporate policies and procedures to include the
procurement of „waste‟. Develop and maintain procurement policies includes
defining a sourcing strategy (i.e. procure „waste‟ through the eSymbiosis
„Marketplace‟ decisions, single source versus multiple source), developing
procedures and policies (e.g. requisition/purchase order approvals, supplier
selection).
c. Maintain „Waste‟ Supplier Certification and Monitor Performance
Develop and maintaining supplier certification activity with the assistance of
eSymbiosis consulting services. „Waste‟ certification generally will provide a
structured approach to evaluating suppliers for compliance -- including material
and process inspections and audits.
d. Manage Procurement
Determine the general impact of introducing IS „waste‟ procurement as a tool for
meeting short- and long-term needs for goods and services. Identify and build
relationships with suppliers who can meet needs. Determine the commodities
needed to support the production plan.
e. Purchasing & Requisitions
Develop the requisitions required to procure commodities. Communicate
procurement needs to the purchasing department. Purchase Materials and
Services. Use the eSymbiosis Marketplace for Procurement.
f. Monitor and Manage „waste‟ Supplier Agreements
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Monitor „waste‟ Suppliers schedule, technical and cost performance. Manage the
stock for a supplied „waste‟.
g. Receive IS „waste‟ Materials and IS Services, Perform QA
Physically receive material and go through quality inspection. If material receives
inspection pass, deliver to warehouse or to point of use storage. QA includes
activities related to the sampling, inspection, and testing of incoming materials in
order to ascertain compliance with specifications detailed in the supplier
agreement.
h. Determine Discrepant Material Disposition
Inspect all materials requiring inspection or sample testing/quality audits.
Record inspection results and re-classify materials or determine disposition of
those materials not meeting specifications. Obtain credits from supplier, where
needed.
i. Procure Waste Removal Services
Manage the process of waste removal internally or in conjunction with waste
removal service provider.
5. Logistics
a. Adapt Logistics Strategy to handle IS „Waste‟
Logistics Strategy includes production requirements, procurement, distribution,
transportation strategies and monitoring supply chain operations performance.
Determine the material storage and „special‟ handling requirements based on
estimated volumes, stocking levels, and material storage requirements. Ensure
that adequate material handling processes and equipment are in place.
b. Manage Transportation
Identify and establish inbound and outbound transportation strategies. Assess
transportation requirements, select appropriate transportation modes to deal with
IS, identify carriers according to established criteria, and monitor transportation
performance.
c. Manage Inventory, Storage and Movement
Manage all aspects of inventory storage, movement and levels for raw materials.
This includes receiving, storage, issues and shipment to and from the IS supply
chain partnerships.
d. Manage Material Disposal and Waste
Identify obsolete, unused or unneeded materials, products and equipment - both
assets and inventory. Consider value of the item and the storage cost for each
item. Make it available and advertise it through eSymbiosis Marketplace.
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e. Manage Lots/Batches
Establish and execute batch information including labeling for tracking of
produced „waste‟ materials.
f. Manage Logistics Performance
Includes defining IS supply chain partnership requirements, procurement,
distribution, transportation strategies, outsourcing strategies, and the monitoring
of supply chain operations performance.
6. Sales
a. Sell IS „waste‟ Products and Services
This process includes IS „waste‟ sales planning activities, mainly through the IS
marketplace.
b. Analyze the IS „waste‟ sales Area
Analyse the sales („wants‟ in eSymbiosis terms) environment and produce a
sales plan. Identify IS partnerships and partnership opportunities, identify IS
„waste‟ needs, perform competitive analysis and an internal assessment.
c. Participate in Marketplace for Internet Sales of IS „waste‟
Establish the internal and external organization to participate in the eSymbiosis
marketplace to sell the IS and form IS supply chains and partnerships.
d. Build and Maintain Relationships with IS Customers and IS consultants
Develop relationships with IS customers and IS Experts / Consultants. Study
customer needs wrt. „Waste‟ production, and co-operate with regional IS Experts
to provide IS solutions. Manage ongoing relationships including soliciting
requirements, meeting them in terms of Quality and Production Capacity
requirements.
e. Manage and Close Direct Sales
Prepare and execute sales through eSymbiosis. Provide all requested
information regarding „waste‟ productions to meet consumption needs. Establish
communication channels with IS supply chain partners and communicate with
customers.
f. Prepare IS proposals
Analyze and review Requests from IS eSymbiosis „Wants‟ Partners. Pursue the
opportunity if IS „Haves‟ meet the needs of the customers.
g. Initiate, Manage and Close Contracts
All activities related to identifying potential IS partners, negotiating and managing
the terms and conditions associated with contract programs. Continually review
customer volume commitments.
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h. Develop Operating Plan
Identify opportunities to set-up and grow the IS wastes to be included in the IS
supply chain. Close the Loop to Marketing, Planning, Manufacturing, and
Logistics and ensure that communication between Sales, Marketing, Planning
and Logistics is effective and all necessary information and feedback is
exchanged in an efficient and timely manner.
7. Order Management
a. Calculate IS Prices and Maintain Customer/Order Data
Order prices are calculated based on requested volumes, standard or special
pricing, promotions, and any additional contract conditions that may have been
established (e.g., volume discounts).
b. Manage and Track Orders
Monitor IS partners‟ orders and respond to customer inquiries into existing
orders. Communicate any changes in the delivery schedule to the customer.
c. Manage Contracts
Monitor compliance with contract conditions, and modifying or updating contracts
when applicable.
d. Delivering Orders
Perform activities associated with picking orders. These activities include: the
establishment of delivery requirements, order consolidation, the generation
documentation, confirmation, staging, packing/handling requirements, the
planning and management of shipments/deliveries, and the the physical
shipment of orders.
8. Customer Service
a. Create and Maintain Customer Information
Manage ownership of customer master information related to „waste‟ types and
processes.
b. Process Complaints
Customer complaints must be resolved promptly. In addition, it is important that
IS customers develop realistic expectations about the follow-up process during
the initial contact. The eSymbiosis marketplace will provide all tools for Supplier-
Consumer interaction.
c. Suggest Products and Services
Optimize each customer contact by creating additional sales.
d. Close the Loop to Marketing and Sales
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Through eSymbiosis, develop a holistic approach to IS process knowledge
management by acquiring the right knowledge of the right customers, knowledge
of their production needs, and mobilise this in ways that maximize the value of
the customers
9. Supporting Processes
a. Manage Support Services
Establish the administrative functions, legal services, corporate communications,
safety & security, and risk management, related to IS „waste‟ supply chain, with
the aid of IS experts.
b. Manage Corporate Communications
Manage the organization‟s relationship with the external environment. Develop
positive influence and goodwill in the local community.
c. Plan and Manage Environmental / Safety Program
Ensure compliance with all applicable environmental and safety laws. Asses
environmental and safety impact of corporate activities and take action.
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3. MARKETPLACE MODELS FOR ESYMBIOSIS
3.1. MARKETPLACE / EXCHANGE REQUIREMENTS
The Internet‟s global reach has opened up a world of buyers and sellers. Today B2B
e-Commerce through electronic Marketplaces and Exchanges, provides additional
means to increase the competitive advantages and the sustainability of enterprises,
letting them reduce turnaround times for identifying, qualifying, and contracting other
members if the IS supply chain as explained in the previous section.
The eSymbiosis environment will build upon existing progress which has been made
in eCommerce and especially to B2B electronic exchanges. eSymbiosis will not
build a marketplace platform, as this is clearly out of the project scope, the project
will seek to integrate exchange portal building technology, to implement the
community building, promotion and content management aspects and features, as
found in contemporary Marketplaces.
The main project differentiator is the assistance, support and guidance it offers to the
IS supply chain members with the exploitation of knowledge based synergies
identification, and supply – demand matching. From the business perspective, in the
eSymbiosis exchanges very important is the introduction of the role of the IS
intermediate / consultant (the IS Practitioner).
The Practitioners are actively involved in the IS workflow, which engages all the
partners and exchange of relevant information. Each stage of the process will be
approved according to the policy set by the practitioners and will require agreement
from all the parties involved. Also, at each stage the benefits (economic and
environmental) will be available to the users in metrics.
3.1.1. BUSINESS MODELS AND MARKETS FOR EXCHANGES
The Business to Business dynamic e-Commerce landscape can generally be divided
into two basic models.
In the first, an individual company sells or procures products or services directly to
one or more partners. This is called an Enterprise Model and is most often used to
address procurement and inventory management objectives of a single company.
In the second model, called the Marketplace Model, companies bring together
multiple buyers and sellers in an independently managed online marketplace. The
Marketplace Model can be used to create targeted exchanges to serve a particular
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industry or market. eSymbiosis aims to bring together businesses enabling them to
perform and create IS relations between the „haves‟ and the „wants‟ which in e-
Commerce terms boils down to a Sell Side / Buy Side relationship.
These e-Commerce trading models can be further subdivided into two types of
markets based on the nature of the relationship between participants and traders.
If the transactions take place in an open environment, where buyers and sellers are
unfamiliar with one another and their respective business practices, the market is
called a Public environment, if participants and traders conduct their business in a
closed environment, where there is a high degree of mutual awareness and trust, the
marketplace is called a Private environment (Table 1).
Enterprise Model Marketplace Model
Private Environment
A business conducts commerce with its own buyers or suppliers Participants often have existing relationships and contractual obligations
A business establishes a community of buyers and sellers Participants are screened before admitted, to foster a stable environment
Public Environment
Businesses sell to new or existing customers. New customers may enter the exchange, but do not necessarily need to be invited to do so. Existing agreements may or may not exist
A business brings together buyers and sellers.
Buyers and sellers can join the exchange with less stringent screening.
Trust is built through experience and comments by other participants
Table 1. eCommerce Business Models.
3.1.1. PARTNERSHIP ROLES AND MODES OF OPERATION IN EXCHANGES
Exchanges solve fundamental and pervasive inefficiencies that hinder trade, such as
the fragmentation of buyers and sellers, high search and transaction costs, and
limited market information or highly variable demand.
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Traditional exchanges (e.g., stock or commodity exchanges) provide liquidity and a
standardized process for trading commodity-type goods where long-term, highly
integrated relationships are not necessary.
One prevailing exchange format in B2B e-commerce is the bid/ask exchange model.
The bid/ask exchange is well known because this format has been used in the
financial and commodity markets for decades.
Bid/ask exchanges are simply “double-sided” auctions, which can be described as
markets where multiple buyers post offers to purchase (commonly known as “bids”),
and multiple sellers post offers to sell (often at a given price, known as the “ask” or
“offer”) for identical goods.
Essentially, each buyer is hosting a global reverse auction in which sellers compete,
and each seller is hosting a forward auction in which buyers compete.
In an exchange, all of these events are blended into a single forum; transactions
result from the process of matching bids and offers. Variations of the bid/ask
exchange model will quickly evolve to include complex, multi-attribute bidding as well
as online negotiation formats that enable participants to match terms beyond price
and other standardized valuation factors.
The buyer often has special considerations such as where and when delivery must
occur, but the seller may also require special handling instructions that limit shipping
options. At this point, the buyer and seller must arrive at an agreement in order to
complete the transaction.
In a dynamic environment, they can negotiate these complex terms online either
synchronously or asynchronously and arrive at mutually agreeable terms in addition
to price.
3.2. BENEFITS BOTH ENDS OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN
As a key component of world class strategic sourcing and eProcurement, the
eSymbiosis Exchange will enable buying and selling with true market pricing at
Internet speed through:
Supply Chain Partnerships
On-line matching and negotiation
Collaboration
Analytics
Contract Management
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Document Management and Knowledge dissemination
In general the eSymbiosis B2B e-Commerce benefits are the following :
Time savings. The workflow and decision support phases of sourcing are
reduced. Speeding the sourcing cycle means faster time to value and broader
supply chain benefits such as lower inventory carrying costs.
Cost savings. One of the most direct benefits is the possibility to create
Values and win-win benefits from waste, in an environmental friendly
collaborative manner. Further, a knowledge-based partnership assisting
system adds value by making optimal matching recommendations that
incorporate non-price factors and purchase policies in a matter of seconds.
Better quality. The impact of consistent quality on purchasing decisions can
translate into lower inventory levels and higher margins. In short, quantifying
quality is a “must do” for today‟s Purchasing professionals. The quality
aspects of the IS business transactions are further assisted by IS consulting
professionals.
Smarter management. Taking Web-based purchasing to the next level means
offering Purchasing managers an efficient way to establish and manage
contract terms and lower total cost of ownership. By monitoring key
performance indicators such as order cycle time and total system cost, they
can make better decisions regarding overall resources and focus on how
purchasing can improve the company‟s competitive advantage and
profitability.
Improved buyer/supplier relations. With increased flexibility in the sourcing
process, buying organizations can articulate needs more clearly, and selling
organizations have more options to meet those needs.
When the above benefits are projected to the „wants‟ and the „haves‟ sides of the
business transactions (in Marketplace terms buy and sell side) are the following:
3.2.1. BUY SIDE (‘WANTS’) BENEFITS
Real Time Pricing: Global reach and 24x7 access provide competitive
pricing models. Participation to the eSymbiosis Exchange promises large
savings depending on the commodity and the supply base.
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Lower Total Cost: Participation to the eSymbiosis Exchange will enable the
purchasing organization to manage the total acquisition cost of IS „waste‟
materials, creating a procurement price „mix‟ of much lower cost.
Improved Turnaround: Participation to the eSymbiosis Exchange will
enhance the time consuming procurement process reducing the amount of
time required to receive and analyze bids from a matter of months to a matter
of days. Additionally, the negotiation process is being streamlined, saving
time and resources.
Better Information: Participation to the eSymbiosis Exchange will provide
insight into true market prices and gives buyers leverage with incumbent,
long-term suppliers.
Increased Resources: Participation to the eSymbiosis Exchange will
streamline the process for identifying and qualifying supply sources,
promoting opportunities for business advancement.
3.2.2. SELL SIDE (‘HAVES’) BENEFITS
Reduced Costs: Participation to the eSymbiosis Exchange will provide a low
cost channel for selling goods quickly. Sales travel budgets and meeting
costs are drastically reduced or eliminated.
Lower Mark-ups: Participation to the eSymbiosis Exchange will lower the
online operating costs, provide additional selling opportunities to attracting
new customers and increasing sales volumes by selling and making profit of a
loss.
Economical Selling: Reduces the time and resources required to attract and
retain buyers.
Superior Market Intelligence: Information about the diverse needs of buying
groups can be analyzed assisted by the Knowledge – Based matching
process, to provide insights into forming partnerships and further exploiting
the IS feedstock.
Improved Working Capital: Using eSymbiosis to enhance supply chain
operation makes the most of excess inventory, resulting in bottom line
savings
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3.3. OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS / REQUIREMENTS OF ESYMBIOTIC
EXCHANGES
In this section the general characteristics of the blended eSymbiosis IS „vertical‟ (i.e.
sector specific) Marketplace(s).
The eSymbiosis platform is aiming to meet the business objectives of a large number
of companies, especially targeting on the procurement functions and enhancing their
„sell‟ potential by letting them transform waste flows to profit, by increasing their
efficiency in managing the Industrial Waste.
Business requirements are complex; so the solution should accommodate sufficient
flexibility to enable easy redefinition and mixing of pricing formats, lot sizes, time
periods, etc.
In General, Exchanges are digital bazaars for trading goods and services, and have
evolved from a simple network of buyers and sellers to sophisticated trading
networks.
By redefining established forms of business processes and transactions, Exchanges
help manage business risks through negotiated buying and selling of contracts at a
specified price and at some future date. Companies sharing enterprise information
such as inventory, supply and demand in real-time can respond to changing market
conditions faster, and manage business risks effectively and efficiently.
The participating Businesses should be assisted with IS focused functionality and
decision support tools to determine profitable strategies for sourcing of raw materials,
manage distribution of goods, plan and optimize the flow of materials throughout the
supply chain network - based on real-time constraints such as capacity, material, and
resource availability.
All the above within eSymbiosis and with the use of the project results will find
immediate application in dealing with Industrial Waste, as this through the
eSymbiosis Exchange will be transformed from Liability to Asset, taking the
characteristics of utilizable row material.
Trading rules, regulations, logistics, pricing, business model and processes,
standards, and value propositions vary by industry and customer segment.
Collaboration therefore, is complex.
The resulting operational environment will thus be, multi-tiered, and sophisticated.
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3.3.1. NEGOTIATION
In addition to price, time, and quantity, negotiated e-commerce allows buyers and
sellers to negotiate other factors synchronously or asynchronously.
These other factors include warranty, shipping terms, or condition of goods that can
be weighted and negotiated in a dynamic environment.
Complicating the process is the fact that many of these variables are negotiable, and
vary depending on how they are packaged in the final offer.
By providing a centralized mechanism to negotiate each of these variables,
negotiated e-commerce improves the ease and efficiency of the entire transaction.
3.3.2. ROBUST, SCALABLE, ENTERPRISE-LEVEL ARCHITECTURE
The eSymbiosis architecture will be robust and scalable so that it can meet the
demands of increased traffic. Robust scalability requires well-planned architectural
partitioning that anticipates where major system demands will occur and dedicates
appropriate resources to manage those demands.
The eSymbiosis solution aims to use the latest „Cloud‟ technologies including server
virtualization, so that the environment will be constantly monitored, flexible and „tailor-
made‟ to adapt to the constantly changing requirements of the eSymbiosis
participants (users) in terms of sizes and functionality.
Contemprary effective solutions for eCommerce include a broad range of features
and allow feature customization for more specific needs. The special characteristics
of the eSymbiosis platform, are envisaged:
Feature Rich Functionality
As an effective solution eSymbiosis will have the ability to create a compelling end-
user experience to keep participants returning to the Web site.
Specific features include innovative, ontology based product category definition,
multiple parameters setting, featured items and sales, negotiations, effective product
searching, and email alerts.
End-users should also be given extensive account preference and maintenance
functions such as self - registration, actions lists, matching suppliers – customers,
open deals, IS consulting assistance etc.
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Collaboration Management: Rich content aggregated from eSymbiosis participants.
Once the content is loaded into the platform, it is immediately available to the entire
trading community. Additionally, through the platform will be offered the capability for
"real-time" multiple „Haves‟-„Wants‟, multi-mode information exchange, planning, and
collaboration between trading partners.
Personalized Trading Environment: the eSymbiosis participants may assume the
role of buyer („Wants‟), seller („Haves‟) or both, and indicate their preference for
goods and services, price, delivery, quality, messaging, payment terms, and
conditions. This is an opportunity for content personalization from all available
sources, and also to tailor collaborative business process unique to its trading
partner. When a new member is initiated, „haves‟ or „wants‟ are automatically
indicated to participate using their business profiles.
Matching ‘Wants’ (Buyers) and ‘Haves’ (Sellers): The core of eSymbiosis
functionality is the ontology based support in the formation and management of
buyer-seller relationships. Using sophisticated search algorithms, the matching
function is enhanced with eSymbiotic „Ontologies‟.
eSymbiotic Channels Creation: Companies collaborating with others are provided
with tools to publicize a comprehensive view of their business, and greater insights
into their business needs and processes to create eSymbiotic market synergies,
make better decisions, and improve business operations as regards the procurement
and sourcing functions.
Auctions: Marketplaces and Exchanges support various types of auctions with
functionality to allow multiple rounds of bidding, matching, selection and award of
contracts for goods and services.
Seller Auction: A seller auction - also called "Forward Auction" invites bids for
goods and services from multiple buyers that match the selection criteria in
their personal profiles.
Buyer Auction: A buyer auction - also known as "Reverse Auction" or "RFQ",
allows buyers to solicit and manage bids from multiple sellers that match the
selection criteria in their personal profiles.
As regards the implementation of Auction mechanisms, and RFx (x=Quotation, Offer,
Proposal, Interest, etc.) functionality, this is clearly outside the scope of the project.
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The setup and performance of these functions is implemented by specialized
Marketplaces such as the cosmoONE in Greece (www.cosmo-one.gr). Such
Marketplaces are seen as a potential opportunity for collaboration and exploitation of
the eSymbiosis project results, as it will provide them with additional means to bring
together Buyers and Suppliers.
3.3.3. FLEXIBLE CUSTOMIZATION AND INTEGRATION
The end-user experience should be easy to customize and brand while not limiting
the flexibility for designing the look and feel of the system. It should provide control
over:
Site look and feel
Branding elements
Options for including internal and external dissemination and publicity
Product categorization
Marketplace parameters such as pricing formats and trading exchange
determinants (including price, delivery time, quality of goods, warranty, and
others)
The administrator should be able to modify many of these elements using
straightforward tools. These attributes are fundamental to ensuring that the company
maintains complete control over the marketplace and all of its functionality.
3.3.4. BUILT-IN STANDARDS-BASED SECURITY
The eSymbiosis platform will take all necessary provisions to allow for encrypted
communications that use industry standards such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL),
Secure HTTP, and digital certificates, as is common to all Public Portals holding
critical information for third party entities.
Additionally, a flexible security model for assigning user rights is required, to allow a
system administrator to set security for individual users and groups, allowing different
levels of access to the system. Security levels should allow limiting access to specific
areas of the site or restrict certain features. This type of security model enables an
administrator to develop highly focused groups of markets and users which help
eliminate channel conflict and allows various personalized functions to be
implemented, e.g. effective targeted marketing to end-users.
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3.3.5. ADMINISTRATION TOOLS
It is required that the platform will provide a complete set of tools for data
administration. The tools should be full-featured but easy to use and allow remote
access of the system.
The administration tools should permit retrieval and maintenance of customer
information, such as permission status information.
A complete set of reporting tools for generating information on market and customer
activity are provisioned.
4. ESYMBIOSIS ONTOLOGIES
Ontologies can be considered as the backbone of the eSymbiosis platform.
Ontology is a description of the concepts and relationships that constitute a domain
of knowledge as this is understood by a group of people related to this domain.
The concepts (classes) that describe the domain are organised into a hierarchical
structure (taxonomy) and the properties are used in order to indicate the
interrelations among concepts (object properties) or to link them with certain values
(Data Properties).
An ontology provides a common vocabulary for a specific domain of knowledge and it
also provides the relations among the terms of this vocabulary. Ontologies can be
shared and reused.
The information that is stored in an ontology can also be used for reasoning
purposes (machine interpretation) and lead to the extraction of new knowledge.
eSymbiosis includes the knowledge models (ontologies) and the registration portal.
In eSymbiosis ontologies will formally represent knowledge as a set of concepts
within the IS domain, and the relationships between those concepts. Ontologies will
be used for reasoning about the IS entities and resources and will be used to assist
many eSymbiosis functions.
The ontologies will serve as a "database" of the information about different types of
waste and their respective technologies as well as their properties. The user will be
navigated through the ontologies in order to classify the relevant waste/technology.
The registration portal (ontology interpreter) is an "engine" that will facilitate this
navigation and will guide the user through the whole process.
It needs to be stressed at this point, that ontologies are not the goal of the project
they are a technology facilitator. Although ontologies are considered as one
"database" of the eSymbiosis platform, they have to offer much more than a
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conventional database. Some of their advantages are the flexibility in using
synonyms which can help eliminating jargon barriers and avoid misunderstandings.
Another advantage of the eSymbiosis platform use of ontologies, is the fact that it is
much easier to change the represented knowledge compared to a conventional
database which would require more time and effort.
Finally, a great advantage is the fact that the information stored in an ontology is
machine interpretable which means that it can be read by machines/computers and
used for reasoning.
This way it is easier to extract more relevant information from the user (as well as
information he might not know about) and provide a better and more accurate
services.
As mentioned before, Ontologies will be used for the registration of the user profile.
The service description ontology (an ontology that stores all the information that is
necessary in order to establish a symbiotic synergy) is used for that purpose.
The ontology interpreter is an integral part of the platform as it is necessary in order
to enable eSymbiosis reap all the advantages mentioned above.
The ontology interpreter will be used to interpret the ontology and navigate the user
through the registration process aiming in extracting accurate information about the
waste/technology and eventually registering the user. It follows the ontology structure
but the followed route differentiates according to the information the user provides.
A very important functionality of eSymbiosis based on ontologies is the matchmaking.
The created user profiles (service description ontology) are being used by the match-
maker in order to identify all the possible matches between users.
The service description consists of properties and concepts that are important for the
process of industrial symbiosis, such as the type of waste on offer (or on demand),
the quantity, and the time availability, the physical form of the waste and the location
of the user.
When a user requests a service, the user profile is matched against existing profiles
of other users in an effort to find possible matches (synergies). Before that however,
a preliminary elimination will take place based on the certain criteria (such as the
type of the user) in order to speed up the matching process.
The matches are made against certain criteria that are considered important for the
industrial symbiosis process. At this stage, the system establishes all the potential
symbiotic synergies.
The ontology driven conceptual model consists of two ontology levels:
The first level is Domain Ontologies that include ontologies for User,
Resource, and Technology.
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The second level linked to the domain level includes Application Specific
Ontologies.
In parallel domain ontologies existing semantic web service frameworks will be used
for describing the profile of industries registered with the platform.
Using a semantic description allows the automation of service discovery which is the
possible synergies between industries by matching the semantics of their
functionalities and non-functional attributes as well the input and output.
The level of granularity at which the service is described is essential in defining the
flexibility of the platform. A too detailed description would greatly reduce flexibility of
providers in describing the services and closes the scope of functionality while a too
high level description although giving flexibility, creates major difficulties in the
matching and discovery process. It is therefore essential to create balance for the
level of description based on specification of the IS platform.
Diagram 3. eSymbiosis concepts ontology
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The above diagram (3) demonstrates the structure a domain relevant ontology to IS.
As described before, the ontology will be used as a guide for the navigation of the
user. The diagram demonstrates the basic structure of the IS ontology includes some
general concepts (user, resource, technology etc.) which are being further detailed
as the user is navigated through the hierarchical structure. For simplicity, the diagram
does not include the properties and other features that facilitate most of the functions
that the ontology offers.
In the above paradigm, there are four types of user (Intermediary, Waste Producer,
Technology Provider, Practitioner) and three different types of resources (Material,
Expertise and Energy).
A very rough example describing a basic navigation scenario would be the following:
The user enters the portal and chooses the type of user that is more appropriate for
his case.
According to this choice the user will be guided to the resource or the technology
concept where he will have to classify in detail the resource/technology he can offer.
The resource/technology of the user could be classified in more than one class in
order to facilitate the matchmaking. (i.e. a plastic water bottle can be classified as a
plastic bottle, as PET plastic waste or as flexible plastic).
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5. ESYMBIOSIS ARCHITECTURE
The main functionality of eSymbiosis, especially as regards the Knowledge Based
aspects of it, will be delivered in the form of web services fully accessible on the
Internet which will allow the Business Users, i.e. the waste stream engaged
members, together with the IS practitioners to register their interest and to describe
their provisions. The eSymbiosis platform is providing users the following functions:
Registration. The waste stream providers are guided by the waste knowledge
model (ontology) to provide details necessary for the full description: waste
composition, availability and anticipated availability, geographical location etc.
Knowledge Model Maintenance. eSymbiosis register respective datasets
describing / characterizing waste streams.
Technology Registration. Providers are guided by the technology knowledge
model to help users to provide necessary for the full description: technology
description, technological, economic and environmental characteristics,
geographical location etc.
Matching. eSymbiosis performs automatic matching of the waste stream
providers and technology providers and match ranking according to the
semantic relevance. Matching also uses ranking based on economic and
environmental relevance with priorities set by the IS practitioners;
Communications. eSymbiosis supports partners‟ information exchange. The
process may be guided / monitored by IS Practitioners.
Operational Support. Once the symbiotic chain is set and operating, all the
participants are able to introduce: quantities and type processed, volume of
outputs, timing and changes, specific benefits and shortfalls, which may be
further processed by eSymbiosis services to compute relevant metrics for
reporting.
The above functions are Knowledge driven, and are supported through core
technology components of eSymbiosis, which are Ontology based.
The Ontology Models involve:
Technology and Intermediary Classification to build a deeper understanding of
the IS trade patterns and to lead the efficiency improvements of the IS network
and enable the processing of the waste streams.
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Waste Classification handling the complexities of the significant volumes of data
collected enabling the systematization of the analysis.
The main advantage and differentiator of the eSymbiosis platform will be the built-in
capabilities for the intelligent processing of request. This is based on the Ontology
Models which are driving eSymbiosis functions through the deployment of
configurable web services. Therefore, the Semantically Enriched Web Services are
building upon an SWS Framework that schematizes the service design as the
specification of a set of layers that cover all relevant eSymbiosis service features
involving all Service Descriptions and provisioning all Service Requests arriving
during the User Registration processes as well as during all User interactions through
the eSymbiosis Portal.
There are special provisions for the storage of the ontology models, more specifically
for the datasets generated for the:
IS Partners / eSymbiosis members
User Waste
User Technology and Intermediaries and the
Service Descriptions Metadata
A very important function of the eSymbiosis platform is the matching process,
implemented by the Ontology Matchmaker, based on complex Algorithms
implemented in the models, namely the IS Chain Complex Solution Algorithm and the
IS model Algorithm. The results of the matchmaking process are further optimized
as performance is an issue during user registration and interaction, through the
eSymbiosis Ontology Matchmaking Optimization Module using IS Chain Complex
Solution Algorithm.
The user functionality is delivered through web Portals, involving Registration,
Knowledge Model Update functions, also covering the Auditing Process for Modifying
and Updating the Knowledge Models.
The Portal allows customization and personalization for different user types through
sophisticated User Data/Information acquisition driven by the ontologies.
The User oriented facilities of the Portal involve:
Geography & Mapping, to assist mainly the proximity location
functions in the matching, also for Business Intelligence and
Reporting,
User Interfaces, User Customization, Personalization,
Data Storing, during sessions, to assist user interactions,
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Reporting & Graphics, to provide insight in the different aspects of the
eSymbiosis, for user‟s perusal as well as for monitoring and
administration,
Feedback for all user initiated processes and actions,
Metrics, Definition, Monitoring and Reporting,
Regulatory Requirements, assisting the user interaction and providing
users with guided support for IS partnership establishment, Terms of
Use, Ethics, Legal Framework etc.
The reporting addresses requirements of the eSymbiosis users, and is tailored to
flexibly support the Decision Functions and strategies for IS implemented at regional
and country levels.
The above functionalities of the eSymbiosis Project functional platform structure are
grouped according to their function and are highlighted in diagram 4.
Diagram 4. eSymbiosis Functions and Services
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6. ESYMBIOSIS USERS
Different types of eSymbiosis users that will be involved with the eSymbiosis system
have been identified. The users can be divided into three groups depending on how
they interact with the system. The main four users; standard member, advanced
member, partner, and practitioner, will use the knowledge-based eSymbiosis
services for Industrial Symbiosis (IS). The guest user will access the web portal to
gather information. Two users will be involved in maintenance, user and technical
support of the system, i.e. knowledge manager and admin support.
6.1. STANDARD MEMBER
The Standard Member is a company representative involved in the IS activities.
He/she can register the company (name, contact info, profile, etc) and provide
information related to existing resource streams; both produced waste and needed
production resources. The Standard Member can search for companies and
resources to find potential synergies and collaboration.
6.2. ADVANCED MEMBER
The Advanced Member has the same rights and can perform the same actions as
the Standard Member but can also provide data to contribute to the knowledge base.
He/she also has the right to have access to and download management reports
produced by the Practitioner.
6.3. PARTNER
The member status is changed to Partner when a member has found another
company and business opportunity and starts discussing mutually advantageous
resource transactions. When two companies agrees to start a partnership they will
have access to addition company information not available on the public company
profile. Partners will be able to fill-in feedback forms concerning the outcome of the
synergy, barriers to the synergy, implementation of synergy, transfer of resources,
etc.
6.4. PRACTITIONER
The Practitioner is an IS expert who provides support to companies to create
synergies. He/she supports discussions between Partners to find optimal synergy
implementation and help find solutions to overcome barriers. The Practitioner
prepares detailed management reports, identifies similar past synergies, and
prepares case studies of successful synergies.
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6.5. GUEST
Most information concerning IS will be publicly available on the eSymbiosis site for
any visitor but in order to have access to some reports a visitor must register as a
Guest. The Guest registration requires a simplified profile compared to a member
profile.
6.6. KNOWLEDGE MANAGER
The Knowledge Manager is responsible for auditing the knowledge base. He/she can
update and modify the ontologies and improve the matching algorithms.
6.7. ADMINISTRATOR
The Administrator is responsible for ensuring the ongoing function of the eSymbiosis
web portal. He/she is also responsible for the maintenance and proper functioning of
all IT hardware. Any inquiries concerning member registration problems will be
directed and answered by the Administrator.
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7. OVERALL ESYMBIOSIS WORKFLOW
7.1. WORKFLOW PHASES
The eSymbiosis workflow will follow the six key stages of the overall Industrial
Symbiosis workflow:
1. Member recruitment 2. Characterisation of Resources 3. Synergy Identification 4. Synergy Tracking 5. Synergy Reporting (success or failure – see above) 6. Case Study Production
Each stage is described in more detail in the sections below.
7.2. DESCRIPTION OF MEMBER RECRUITMENT
The decision of a company to become a Member may happen through a number of
routes:
A company attends an event/workshop, invited through a targeted campaign
designed to attract specific industry sectors or as a result of an event planned
for a specific location
A Practitioner makes contact with the company in order to encourage
membership – this is most likely to be because of the company‟s industry
sector (and therefore the waste streams it is likely to generate), but may on
occasion be because of its location
A company becomes aware of industrial symbiosis through local, regional or
national PR or through the website, and is proactive about becoming involved
The company will register on the eSymbiosis site and provide information concerning
company contact data and industrial profile.
7.3. DESCRIPTION OF CHARACTERISATION OF RESOURCES
Following registration, the Member will be guided through data capture forms to
provide information about company produced waste resources („haves‟), resources
used in its production („wants‟), and technologies as they are known at the time. More
detailed information may be added at a later stage. Information includes e.g. what
type of resource, physical form of resource, contaminations, availability of resource,
cost, etc.
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Based on the resource information provided by the Member the eSymbiosis system
will classify each waste resource according to existing waste classifications and
material classification such as:
scientific and trade names
synonyms
commercial codes
physical properties
chemical properties
production and processing terminology
7.4. DESCRIPTION OF SYNERGY IDENTIFICATION
Identifying synergies and company matchmaking based on „haves‟ and „wants‟ has
traditionally been the provenance of the Practitioners. The Practitioner, assisted by a
number of aides, including of course the national database of resources, internet
searches, the network of Practitioners and foremost the relationship and working
knowledge of the individuals, their company and their resources has been at the
forefront of the matchmaking process.
In eSymbiosis synergy identification will be automated using ontology based
semantic web service and matchmaking algorithms. Apart from material
classification, the matchmaking algorithms will take into account geographical
location, availability of the resources, environmental factors, and economic issues
when proposing a possible synergy to a Member.
Apart from the automated synergy identification Members will be able to search
manually for resources that match their profile.
7.5. DESCRIPTION OF SYNERGY TRACKING
The stages of a synergy are formally classified as follows:
Idea – proposed synergy, known by all the parties involved, potential
understood
Discussion – The parties discuss in more detail (costs, quantities, critical
path, etc)
Negotiation – The parties are now working towards a formal agreement
Implementation – formal agreement reached and resources being exchanged
Complete
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When Members decide to pursue a proposed synergy together their status is
changed to Partners. The Partners will be able to record the status and the current
stage of the synergy. Any barriers that may block the synergy will be flagged to the
Practitioner that will intervene and work with the Partner companies to try to unblock
the synergy e.g. inviting other sources of expertise to join the discussions after an
initial meeting identifies specific needs, through opening up discussions with
Environment Agency staff if the barrier is a regulatory one, for example, or perhaps
through supporting the member company/ies in obtaining funding to revise processes
or invest in new technologies which enable the synergy to be completed.
7.6. DESCRIPTION OF SYNERGY REPORTING
Reporting the outcome of synergies is important in order track the success of
eSymbiosis. In case of completed synergies the measured outputs are related to the
triple bottom line benefits of economic, environmental and social impacts.
Economic Environmental Social
Cost Savings to Business
Landfill Diversion (tonnes) Jobs created
Additional Sales to Business
CO2 reduction (tonnes) Jobs saved
Virgin Raw Materials (tonnes)
Hazardous waste eliminated (tonnes)
Water Savings (tonnes)
Table 2: Completed Synergy metrics and measured outputs
Inevitable not all potential synergies lead to a commercial conclusion. For these
synergies the reached synergy stage will be documented and the reasons/barriers for
failure of synergies will be reported.
7.7. DESCRIPTION OF CASE STUDY PRODUCTION
The final stage of the eSymbiosis workflow is for the Practitioner to produce case
studies about the outcomes from successful synergies. The case studies will present
the companies involved in the synergy, their resource transactions, and the
measured outputs. These case studies will serve as benchmarks for similar studies
but also enhance the credibility of the eSymbiosis achievements with the industry,
business organisations, governmental organisations, local authorities, etc.
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8. USER REQUIREMENTS
The following sections will list the identified user requirements. Following prototyping
and testing/evaluation with users the requirements will be updated. The aim and
interaction of each user with the eSymbiosis web service is different for the different
stages in the eSymbiosis workflow. Therefore four groups of global user requirement
have been identified and are described in the section 8.1. Sections 8.2 to 8.7 then list
the user requirements for the six stages in the eSymbiosis workflow.
Each requirement for the global user requirement is identified by a string conforming
to the format GRi.j. where:
Letter „GR‟ stands for the Global Requirement
Number i denotes the group for which the requirement mainly applies
Number j is an incremental index
Each requirement for the six workflow stages is identified by a string conforming to
the format Ri.j. where:
Letter „R‟ stands for the Requirement
Number i denotes the workflow stage for which the requirement mainly
applies
Number j is an incremental index
At the end of each requirement the type of user/s that the requirement applies to is
put in square brackets, with the following abbreviations:
M = Standard Member
AM = Advanced Member
PA = Partner
PR = Practitioner
G = Guest
K = Knowledge Manager
A = Administrator
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8.1. GLOBAL USER REQUIREMENTS
8.1.1. OVERALL VISION
GR1.1. Visitors to the eSymbiosis web site should be able to learn about the
concept of eSymbiosis.
GR1.2. Secure login-driven user portal, one-stop-shop for information and business
opportunities based on stated business resources / feedstock requirements.
GR1.3. Ability to carry out 'self-service' eSymbiosis using user-friendly synergy
management screens and search facilities, the companies either operate
the entire process themselves or with minimum Practitioner assistance.
GR1.4. Ability to receive news that matches the technological profile of a Member
GR1.5. Evident Practitioner support with contact details to assigned Practitioner on
the Member first page after log-in.
GR1.6. Simple documents and contact handling.
8.1.2. RESOURCES AND TECHNOLOGIES
GR2.1. Ability for Members to browse the taxonomy and classification of resources
or technologies stored in the eSymbiosis system.
GR2.2. Relevant Members should be automatically informed when a new resource
or technology matching their search criteria is added to the eSymbiosis
system.
GR2.3. The eSymbiosis system should be able to learn what type of resources or
technologies are of interest to a Member based on click-count and
recommend resources accordingly. In other words, a Member‟s click-
behaviour may differ from their stated „wants‟ but perhaps gives some
insight into other items of interest.
8.1.3. SYNERGIES – OUTPUTS
GR3.1. Members can decide that all information concerning synergy initiations and
measured outputs of completed synergies should be confidential.
8.1.4. KNOWLEDGE PORTAL
GR4.1. Links to industry sites and reports from e.g. Resource Recovery Forum,
Lets Recycle, Edie, etc. These are assigned to networks of Members by
the Practitioner to make them appear on the relevant Member‟s home page
GR4.2. Links to academic/research sites and reports. These are assigned to
networks of Members by the Practitioner to make them appear on the
relevant Member‟s home page.
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GR4.3. Ability for Member to upload documents and link to information.
GR4.4. Search facilities.
8.2. USER REQUIREMENTS STAGE 1 - MEMBER RECRUITMENT
R1.1. Simple procedure to register to become Member [M,AM]
R1.2. Easy to fill in company information in the system [M,AM]
R1.3. Clear explanation for every field of every company data form that needs to be
filled in (online help or off-line document) [M,AM]
R1.4. Ability to mark company information as “confidential”, this would mean that
they will only be visible to the Practitioner [M,AM]
R1.5. Ability to update profile information [M,AM]
R1.6. Feedback of successful member registration [M,AM]
R1.7. Ability to modify forms and tables [PR,K]
8.3. USER REQUIREMENTS STAGE 2 - CHARACTERISATION OF RESOURCES
R2.1. Easy to fill in resource or technology information in the system [M,AM]
R2.2. Clear explanation for every field of every resource or technology form that
needs to be filled in (online help or off-line document) [M,AM]
R2.3. Ability to upload data sheets, pictures, etc, relevant to a resource or
technology [M,AM]
R2.4. Ability to mark resource or technology information as “confidential”, this would
mean that they will only be visible to the Practitioner [M,AM]
R2.5. Ability to mark resource as „haves and „wants‟ [M,AM]
R2.6. Ability to update and modify resource or technology information [M,AM]
R2.7. Feedback of successful resource or technology registration [M,AM]
R2.8. Ability to modify forms and tables [PR,K]
R2.9. The ontology should include Member resources and technologies [K]
8.4. USER REQUIREMENTS STAGE 3 - SYNERGY IDENTIFICATION
R3.1. Perform manual search for resources or technologies of other Members
[M,AM,PR]
R3.2. Ability to specify search parameters such as resource type, technology type,
region, timescale, quantity, and cost [M,AM,PR]
R3.3. The automatic synergy identification should provide relevant/accurate
possible synergies [K]
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R3.4. Synergies proposed to a Member should provide sufficient information for the
Member to decide if the synergy is worth pursuing [K]
R3.5. The matchmaking algorithms for automatic synergy identification should be
fast [K]
R3.6. The matchmaking algorithms should take into account parameters such as
geographical location, availability of the resources, environmental factors,
and economic issues [K]
8.5. USER REQUIREMENTS STAGE 4 - SYNERGY TRACKING
R4.1. Ability to record finalisation of a synergy stage [PA]
R4.2. Ability to record status of a current synergy stage [PA]
R4.3. Ability to record problem encountered at a current synergy stage [PA]
R4.4. Ability to record reason for an unsuccessful synergy [PA]
R4.5. Recorded problem should be flagged as “demands attention” [PR]
R4.6. The system should issue reminders for updating the status of a synergy in
progress [PR]
R4.7. The system should present the time of inactivity for a synergy in progress
[PR]
R4.8. Ability to define the limit of time of inactivity for a synergy in progress, if time
is exceeded the synergy should be flagged as “demands attention” [PR]
8.6. USER REQUIREMENTS STAGE 5 - SYNERGY REPORTING
R5.1. Easy to fill in information concerning the measured outputs of a successful
synergy in the synergy reporting form [PA]
R5.2. Clear explanation for every field of every synergy reporting form that needs to
be filled in (online help or off-line document) [PA]
8.7. USER REQUIREMENTS STAGE 6 - CASE STUDY PRODUCTION
R6.1. Ability to customise case study online templates [PR]
R6.2. Ability to import data from eSymbiosis system to prepare online case study
report [PR]
R6.3. Ability to export data from eSymbiosis system to prepare case study reports
in various document formats [PR]
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9. WEB SERVICE FUNCTIONALITIES
Based on the user requirements identified in Section 8 the functionalities of the
eSymbiosis web service have been identified. They have been collected into 14
groups and they are listed below.
Each functionality for the 14 groups is identified by a string conforming to the format
Fi.j. where:
Letter „F‟ stands for the Functionality
Number i denotes the group for which the Functionality mainly applies
Number j is an incremental index
At the end of each functionality description the associated requirements are put in
square brackets.
9.1. USER CREATION
F1.1. Users will register themselves with the system. This will require a custom
form to be developed that requests appropriate information (name, email, etc)
as well as attributes that will assist in the use of the system (such as areas of
special interest or expertise). [GR1.1, R1.1-R1.5]
F1.2. The system will create the appropriate entry automatically, and allocate the
user with the relevant level of access to the site – „Member‟, „Advanced
Member‟ etc will have different levels of access. The differentiation between
categories has yet to be determined. [R1.6, R2.7]
F1.3. The user will have identified themselves as being located in a particular
geographical area, and this will trigger an alert to the appropriate Practitioner.
[R1.2]
9.2. DATABASE INPUT FUNCTIONALITY
F2.1. The database structure is critical to the success of eSymbiosis - the quality of
information coming out of the system can only ever be as good as that being
entered. The use of drop-downs with fixed choices is therefore essential
wherever possible, the skill being in making sure that the drop-downs are
well-researched and thorough, without being overbearing or complicated to
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use. A „data dictionary‟ would perhaps support and firm up data entry
standards where they rely on free text entry. [R1.2, R1.3, R2.1, R2.2]
F2.2. It is important to have the ability to modify the data entry form – to hide fields,
make them redundant, add new fields and so forth. [R1.5, R2.6]
F2.3. The ability to change the way a field behaves is also very important, in that it
offers a measure of potential control over data quality. [R1.7, R2.8]
F2.4. The ability to flag resources as „Confidential‟ is essential: this means that the
resources are managed by a Practitioner, rather than appearing in the
publicly-available system for management through the normal automated
process. [R2.4]
F2.5. As a general principle, the ability to delete data/information should not be
available to anyone who is not a system administrator. This applies to all
data managed within the system. [R1.5, R1.7, R2.6, R2.8, R4.1-R4.4]
9.3. CRM FUNCTIONALITY
F3.1. The CRM functionality to be provided is focused on the management of a
Contacts and Organisations database, together with the ability to associate
contacts and organisations with various tasks and items throughout the
system. [GR1.2, GR1.3]
F3.2. It should also be possible to contact individuals easily and to change the
status of contacts. For example, it should be possible for users with
appropriate authority to „promote‟ a contact to a full member. [GR1.2, GR1.3]
F3.3. It should be possible to associate any item within the system with any other
item – for example, documents uploaded by a user, events attended by a
user, etc. [GR4.3]
F3.4. The CRM functions are built around two basic entities, contacts and
organisations, the latter being the principal of the two.
F3.5. Input or editing of contact or organisation data will be via an input form made
available through either a menu or a web part. The form should be able to be
modified at system administrator level, in order to change, add or remove
fields and data types. [R1.7, R2.8]
F3.6. Each organisation will have an online „record card‟, which will display a wide
range of information about it through a series of roll-up lists, for example
[GR2.2, GR2.3, GR3.1, R1.4, R2.3-R2.5, R4.1- R4.6 R5.1]:
Name
Branch/Site
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Status (active member/dormant member/stakeholder etc)
Addresses (mail inc postcode, email and web)
Phone and fax numbers
Region/area of Greece
IS Practitioner
Associated synergies
Associated matches
Associated resources (haves/wants)
Associated tasks and their owners
Events which contacts within the organisation have attended
Recent activity (emails, documents, etc) associated with the Organisation
F3.7. Information within the lists will provide live links to other details within the
system. Further information sets and lists will be able to be added as the
system develops. [R1.7, R2.8, R2.9]
F3.8. Lists of synergies, matches, etc will include hyperlinks to referenced
information. Following a link will take the user to the page on which the
details of the information can be viewed. [R3.1-R3.6, R4.1-R4.5, R5.1]
F3.9. Viewing of each information set will be controlled by the system security
model, so that detailed information of a commercial or confidential nature can
be shared by an appropriate, controlled group of users. [GR3.1, R1.4, R2.4]
F3.10. The Contact „record card‟ will be fundamentally the same as that described
above for the Organisation, showing a range of appropriate information with
live links to information in other parts of the system. It should include the
contact‟s personal areas of interest, for event management purposes. [R1.2,
R1.5]
F3.11. Contacting individuals will be enabled through easy access to contact details
– where an individual is mentioned, a link to their details will be available. An
email to a specific individual will be generated direct from the system. [GR1.3]
9.4. WORKFLOW CONTROLS
F4.1. There are certain key stages in the lifecycle of a synergy that are defined by
specific tasks or gateways. Workflow controls are necessary to ensure that
the tasks or gateways have been completed. In the production of a detailed
case study, for example [R4.1-R4.5]:
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when a synergy has been completed, certain specific information needs to
be collated and validated internally, and then published as a case study.
The workflow control in this instance would be to ensure that :
o the outcomes shown are confirmed rather than potential o all the required information is made available in the case study o it has internal validation through an approval route o all parties to the synergy have signed it off o it is published correctly
F4.2. The system needs to have a basic approval functionality in certain areas –
such as case study production - which allows content to be posted in a
„Pending‟ state. This will require approval by a user with appropriate rights
before it becomes visible to all users. [GR3.1]
F4.3. The synergy management workflow process may require explicit
management of the five stages. The process will need certain information to
become „locked‟ at each stage so that other information must be entered to
„unlock‟ it. A data-driven task control system (task engine) will need to be
implemented to enable a series of actions to be linked, allowing for multi-
stage and multi-party approval processes, time-based approval etc. [R4.1-
R4.8]
F4.4. At each synergy stage, the task definition will link the synergy to a data entry
form. The data entry form will use the current status of the synergy to
determine which fields should be editable. [R4.1-R4.8]
9.5. BASIC TEMPLATES
F5.1. Templates should be available through three basic routes [GR1.6]:
workflow controls as above, where to pass a particular point in a process
a certain template will have to be populated and published back into the
system
by clicking on an icon or button next to a contact or organisation (or other
entities in the database) which offers letter, fax, memo or other
appropriate templates which will then automatically merge in the sender
and recipient details,
by simple selection and download from the DMS
F5.2. Most document templates should be held within a document library and
qualified by type to ensure appropriate visibility. The creation and loading of
templates will need to be within the capabilities of the system administrators
as an ongoing process. [GR1.6]
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F5.3. Automatic creation of a document using a specific template, for certain
activities (such as the production of a standard case study) should be
managed through the task management system. [GR1.6, R6.1-R6.3]
9.6. DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (DMS)
F6.1. The DMS will be the central store for all documents, files and e-mails which
pass into and out of eSymbiosis. Each individual document or file should be
[GR1.6]:
a permanent entry on the database which is subject to version control
in the case of e-mail, it should be locked and non-editable, and linked to
appropriate entities - author, recipient(s), organisation(s),
synergy/match/resource, event etc
capable of being linked to multiple „file folders‟ in the document store,
although there will only ever be one physical version of the file itself
date-stamped for date published to the DMS and/or date received and/or date
of original document. Each version should be date-stamped in its own right
categorised to enable „quick searching‟ and/or indexed to enable free text
searching
able to have a task associated with it, as well as an individual - for example
that a document should be reviewed in three days time by a particular
Practitioner (this would appear on their desktop as a task or reminder, in
much the same way as Outlook manages tasks)
F6.2. The system will have a single „master‟ document library, which categorises its
content based on a number of attributes. Users will be presented with a view
on a master document library from within their sections of the system, filtered
as necessary. When users click a link to the document, or request to add an
item to the library (if permissions allow), they will be taken to the master
document library page – this will prevent the creation of duplicates in multiple
libraries. [GR1.6]
9.7. SEARCH FACILITY
F7.1. This is anticipated as being the starting point for many users of the system. It
will provide a quick way of finding contacts, companies, resources and any of
a wide range of predefined types of information. [GR1.3, GR2.1, GR4.4, R3.1]
F7.2. Typical searches might include such examples as [GR4.4]:
search for (Matches) in (Central Greece) in the last (month) containing (*text*)
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search for (Contacts) in (all) in the last (month) containing (*text*)
search for (documents) in (Viotia) in the last (week)
It is recommended that specific options are presented to the user as drop down lists
so that the search returns more targeted results. This will have the additional
advantage of being customisable by the user so that common searches that the user
is interested in can be saved to the user‟s own page.
F7.3. From the search results list, users should be able to select individual items as
links to detailed records. [GR1.3, GR2.1, GR4.4]
F7.4. Wild card search functionality is also necessary. [GR1.3, GR2.1, GR4.4]
9.8. WEB LINKS
F8.1. The system will need to allow system administrators to create a list of useful
links and to make these available to portal users. [GR4.1, GR4.2]
F8.2. The creation of personal „my links‟ by users, from this list (not the creation of
new entries on the list – members could perhaps be able to request that site
administrators add particular links that they feel would be useful to others).
[GR4.3]
9.9. EMAIL
F9.1. The system should have an integrated e-mail interface. All e-mail out of
eSymbiosis should be generated directly, and be automatically recorded
either as a document or a system activity. [GR1.3]
F9.2. The standard email signature of the Practitioner (or other user) should be
incorporated into outgoing emails. [GR1.3]
F9.3. Incoming email will not be automatically recorded as a document or task, but
it should be possible to interrogate the mail storage system to enable
tracking. It should also be possible to associate a task or document with
incoming email. [GR1.3]
9.10. NEWS
F10.1. The system will be a means of disseminating relevant announcements and
regular news around the network of members and stakeholders. It should be
possible to filter items, for example as „national‟ and „regional‟ (i.e. specific to
the region of the user) through the use of drop-down lists. [GR1.4]
F10.2. News should also be categorised using topics, so that users can browse
directly to news relevant to a particular subject area. [GR1.4]
F10.3. The ability to post items should be controlled by the security model.
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F10.4. There should be a link between the news feature and the DMS to
automatically circulate certain types of documents which are published to the
DMS to the appropriate audience (examples might include new research,
press articles about eSymbiosis, etc). [GR1.4, GR4.1, GR4.2]
9.11. HELPDESK
F11.1. The system should include a simple means by which helpdesk „calls‟ can be
raised electronically by users, and tracked and closed out by the system
administrators. It would be helpful to have a custom list defined for users.
[GR1.5]
F11.2. The call tracking system should be able to be analysed, and reports should
be produced on a regular basis to assist in compiling FAQs and making minor
adjustments to interfaces and system structure. [GR1.3]
9.12. SECURITY
F12.1. There are two main aspects to the security model that needs to be provided
[GR1.2]:
the ability to control what functions individuals may have within different areas
or tiers of the site. For example, some users should be able to add news
items and documents; others should have no update capabilities at all, but will
be able to read documents uploaded by Practitioners or site administrators
the visibility of information. Much of the information on the site will be „public‟
– i.e. viewable by any registered Guests and Members. However, other data
may be sensitive. This may cover entire lists of information or just specific
fields.
F12.2. The specifics of the audiences that need to be established to enable the
security model to work – which roles can have access to which categories of
information. [GR1.2]
9.13. DATA IMPORT
F13.1. Bulk import of data may be necessary, for example contact information or
details of resources which have been obtained from external sources. We will
need to consider how best this should be managed. An agreed list of
attributes will need to be defined, which will include the basic required fields
for the data import. [R1.2, R2.1]
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F13.2. Imported documents will need to be categorised in at least one and possibly
several different ways in order to drive document visibility and search
capability. [GR1.6]
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